We iterated on the story over the weekend and during the week. We want the story to have drama and emotion, but also serve the educational purposes of our game. We met with Anthony Daniels to talk about story, and worked as a team to keep moving the story, game design, and art forward. Our goal this week was to nail down the story and decide on what the intractable objects are in the scene, and what the player learns from those intractable objects.
We are still writing and testing the story and the game mechanics. It is unfolding in a more organic (slightly unpredictable) way than we initially thought. Right now it feels like the game design and story are unfolding side by side. We want the experience to be powerful but not corny, educational but not boring, and aimed at teens but relatable to anyone learning to drive.
The story right now:
A high school girl and her passenger die when the girl accelerates towards a yellow light at an intersection and is T-boned by a car turning left. The girl’s car crashes into a pole, splitting the car in half. She and her passenger die on the scene.
We currently have three interactable (searchable) scenes that go along with this story. The player will interact with each scene to find out more about the crash, including going into the car with the driver and passenger, into her home to the moment her parents are told by a police officer that she is dead, and to the crash scene itself. The player will ultimately reverse the crash and save the life of the main character and her passenger.
The final game itself will be made up of many stories like this. The player will gain knowledge from the game related to the driver’s manual, and also put decision making practice and real world possibilities into context with the new skills they are learning.
next week: testing with teens, client visit, preparing for halves